Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 12 (IANS): What was a cold war between two prominent leaders in the Kerala unit of the CPI(M) appears to have reached a new level after Minister of Excise and Local Self Government Rajesh complained against Speaker A.N. Shamsher leaving the party top brass red-faced.

It all surfaced on the floor of the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday when the Speaker came down heavily on Rajesh.

While Shamseer is a two-time legislator from Thalassery in Kannur, Rajesh after one term in the Lok Sabha from Palakkad, won his first Assembly election in 2021 and was made a Speaker then. After the death of CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in 2022, the then State Excise Minister M.V. Govindan was made the new party secretary. Shamseer, who was upset about not being made Minister in 2021, was given the Speaker’s post and Rajesh replaced Govindan in the state cabinet.

Shamseer who hails from the CPI(M) bastion of Kannur was the blue-eyed boy of Balakrishnan.

Incidentally, the difference of opinion between the two leaders began when Rajesh was the Speaker, and on a few occasions, he openly chided Shamseer who was only a legislator then.

With the change of posts and Shamseer taking over as the Speaker, he indulged in a tit-for-tat response to Rajesh evoking instant response from the opposition benches.

On Tuesday, Rajesh was given a dressing down by Shamseer even after the former expressed an apology for breaking the normal legislature procedures. The Speaker responded in a tough manner, which Rajesh did not like.

Rajesh has brought this to the attention of both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Govindan. Both of them have pacified him and have sought time to reign in Shamseer.

With the CPI(M) state party conference slated for month's end, the party leadership is likely to address this issue as quickly as possible.